Post on 28-Jul-2016
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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SECURITY, COUNTER-TERRORISM
and THE COUNTER NARRATIVE
SPEAKERS:
Lt. Gen. Dambazau Rob Wainwright Keith Vaz MP Minister of the Interior Director General Chair, Home Affairs Government of Nigeria Europol Select Committee
1 O:OOam -4:00pm 121 st April 2016
Homerton College I Cambridge
Tim loughton MP Ali Soufan Ameena Blake Simon Cole Dr Sara Silvestri Muhammed Butt Nusrat Ghani MP Home Affairs CEO Soufan Group Muslim Council of Chief Constable, City University London Leader, Brent Council Home Affairs Select Select Committee USA Britain National Lead Prevent Committee
Prof Geoffrey Ward, Lord Ahmad Naz Shah MP lawrence Ward Dr Lydia Wilson Mark Simmonds Zahed Amanullah 1
Principal, Homerton Minister for Home Affairs Global Head of Security University of Oxford Head of the Counter Institute for Strategic I College Countering Extremism Soloct Committee PA Consulting Group Extremism Project Dialogue
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HOME AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE COUNTERING EXTREMISM CONFERENCE
Homerton College, Cambridge, 21 April2016
Registration and coffee
Welcome by Professor Geoffrey Ward, Principal of Homerton College
Welcome by Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Committee Chairman
Keynote Speech: Chief Constable Simon Cole, NPCC lead for Prevent
Panel: Tackling Radica/isation and the Counter-Extremism Strategy
Chair: Tim Loughton MP, Home Affairs Select Committee
Cllr Muhammad Butt, leader, london Borough of Brent
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Founder and Director, Faith Matters
Dr Sara Silvestri, Senior lecturer, City University london
Panel: Tackling Terrorism - Security and Policing
Chair: Nusrat Ghani MP, Home Affairs Select Committee
lawrence Ward, Global Head of Security, PA Consulting & former Serjeant at Arms
Rt Hon Mark Simmonds, COO, Counter Extremism Project
Dr lydia Wilson, Research Fellow, University of Oxford
George Selim, Director, Countering Violent Extremism Task Force, US State Department
Keynote Speech: Ali Soufan, CEO Soufan Group
Lunch
Keynote Speech: Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol
Panel: Developing the Counter Narrative
Chair: Naz Shah MP, Home Affairs Select Committee
Zahed Amanullah, Head of Counter Narratives, Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Ameena Blake, Assistant Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain
Murtaza Shaikh, Co-Director, Averroes
Rafat AI Akhali, Fellow, University of Oxford and former Yemeni Minister for Youth
Keynote Speech: lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Final Keynote Speech: Lt. Gen. Dambazau, Minister for Internal Affairs, Nigeria
Closing remarks by Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Committee Chairman
END
Terms of Reference
HOME AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE COUNTERING EXTREMISM INQUIRY
HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO EXTREMISM IN BRITAIN
The Home Affairs Committee on 27 August 2015 announced an inquiry into the Government's new five year strategy into countering extremism.
The Committee is looking at issues including:
• The major drivers of, and risk factors for recruitment to, terrorist movements linked to extremism.
• How effective is the Prevent strategy and what have been the problems with it? Including:
o responding to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat the UK faces from those who promote it?
o working with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation?
o preventing people from being drawn into terrorism and ensuring that they are given appropriate advice and support?
• How effective is the Channel programme at: o identifying individuals at risk; o assessing the nature and extent of that risk; and o developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals
concerned?
• How successfully is the Home Office collaborating with international allies, social media companies and civil society organisations to counter online extremism?
• What international comparisons can be made with the Home Office's counterextremism strategy?
• How can returning foreign fighters be rehabilitated and reintegrated?
The Committee intends its inquiry to inform implementation of the Government's new strategy.
Inquiry webpage: http://www. pari iament. uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commonsselect/home-affairs-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/countering-extremism/
House of Commons
Home Affairs Committee
Countering Extremism Conference Homerton College, Cambridge
Thursday 21 April 2016
Welcome
Welcome to the Home Affairs Committee's conference on Countering Extremism today on Thursday 21 st April 2016.
Radicalisation, extremism and terrorism now represent some of the leading challenges for policymakers, police & security services, and communities across the country.
The Home Affairs Select Committee launched its major inquiry into these issues in August 2015, and has since heard evidence from a wide range of voices, which range from Home Office Ministers, to leading representatives from the Muslim Community and to three of the largest internet companies in the world. Today's conference will be the final part of this inquiry.
We are therefore delighted that we have the opportunity to hear today from some of the world's leading experts on countering extremism. Chief Constable Simon Cole is the NPCC lead for Neighbourhood Policing, and is also responsible for tackling these issues in the city I represent, Leicester; Ali Soufan is an internationally renowned counter terrorism expert; Rob Wainwright is the current Director of Europol, which coordinates cross-border policing and counter-terrorism efforts across the EU.
We are also very pleased to be joined by Lt Gen Dambazau, Minister for the Interior of Nigeria, who has responsibility for the security and immigration services for a population of 173 million people.
It is with these international perspectives and expert views that the Committee seeks to understand how can promote tolerance and succeed in preventing radicalisation at the grass-roots level. We know the extent of the challenge, and today we hope to hear solutions.
Rt Hon Keith Vaz M P Chairman of the Committee
Committee Members' Profiles
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair (Labour, Leicester East}
Keith Vaz was first elected in June 1987 and was subsequently re-elected as a Member of Parliament 7 times. He was the first person of Asian origin to sit in the House of Commons since 1922. He was Britain's Minister for Europe under Tony Blair. He was elected Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2007 by a vote of the whole house and was re-elected in 2010 and in June 2015.
In 2006 he was appointed by the then Prime Minister to chair the National Executive Committee's Ethnic Minority Taskforce, a position he still holds. In 2007 he was elected as a member of the Labour Party's ruling National Executive Committee. His other interests include health policy, Yemen and the European Union, and he is currently Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Yemen and Diabetes. He has been appointed as a Member of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) in the 2015-2020 Parliament.
Victoria Atkins MP (Conservative, Louth and Horncastle}
Since her election in 2015; Victoria has spoken up for the constituency of Louth & Horncastle on a range of issues, including the provision of rural broadband, defence, wind turbines and the importance of tackling extremism. She has also been elected to sit on the Home Affairs Select Committee, and is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Diabetes and on Broadband.
Victoria was the first member of her family to go to university, reading law at Cambridge University. She specialised in prosecuting serious organised crime and found it a privilege to represent the decent, law-abiding majority in her work prosecuting hardened crimina ls. She has prosecuted internationa l drug trafficking rings, gun-runners and fraudsters who steal £100s million from British taxpayers. She is one of only 30 advocates in England and Wales appointed to the prestigious Attorney General's Regulators Panel and the Serious Fraud Office's List of specialist fraud prosecutors. She hopes to put her experiences in the criminal courts to good use in the political world.
James Berry MP (Conservative, Kingston and Surbiton}
James worked as a self-employed barrister for eight years prior to becoming an MP in 2015, specialising in healthcare and police law, and in particular prosecuting police misconduct and corruption. He is passionate about improving social aspiration through education, something he highlighted in his maiden speech.
He was selected by local Conservatives in December 2013 and launched local campaigns to "Support our Small Shops" with 30 Minutes Free Parking and for more police officers in Kingston, both of which were successful. James is now working hard on a variety of local campaigns, which have grown out of discussions he has had with local residents across the Borough. James regularly volunteers as a dining companion at Kingston Hospital and enjoys getting involved in local green projects.
Mr David Burrowes MP (Conservative, Enfield, Southgate}
David was first elected as the MP for Enfield Southgate in May 2005 and i n May 2015 he was elected for a third term. David is an Executive Member of Conservative MPs' influential backbench 1922 Committee and Chairman of its Justice Committee. He is a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. David is interested in the policy areas of social justice, criminal justice and the family, with a focus on drug and alcohol rehabilitation, homelessness, refugees, and the disabled. He also champions human dignity from the beginning to end of life.
In this Parliament David has spoken up on a number of key issues which have led to changes in Government policy and legislation. For example David led the call for more Syrian refugees to be accepted in the UK; he successfully led the cross party opposition to assisted suicide and the relaxation of Sunday Trading laws, he supported the blanket ban on the supp ly of so called 'le ' and hel event cuts to disabil benefits.
Nusrat Ghani MP (Conservative, Wealden)
Nus Ghani was elected to Parliament in May 2015. After university Nus initially worked at an investment bank, but realised she wanted to use her campaigning instincts and change things for the better. With a strong interest in health policy, she worked for Age UK and for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Both jobs allowed her to come into contact with politicians, and a growing realisation that politics does matter.
During her time working on education and health campaigns for the BBC World Service in conflict zones she came to fully appreciate UK democracy, and she returned to the UK determined to put her grass roots campaigning experiences to use and to give back through public service. She has previously stood at the 2010 General Election in Birmingham Ladywood and was also Deputy Chairman for the Brentford and lsleworth Conservatives Association.
Mr Ranil Jayawardena MP (Conservative, North East Hampshire)
Ranil Jayawardena was elected in May 2015. He was previously a local Councillor, serving as Deputy Leader of The Borough of Basingstoke and Deane until he was selected at a US~tyle 'open primary' ahead of the General Election in 2015 to be the Conservative Party's Parliamentary candidate for North East Hampshire, which he won. Following the election, Ranil was quickly elected by fellow MPs to the Home Affairs Select Committee and also unanimously elected as the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Ranil has commercial experience working for one of Britain's biggest financial institutions -Lloyds Banking Group pic - in the City of London. He remains a Freeman of the City of London and a Fellow of the RSA.
Tim Loughton MP (Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham)
Tim Loughton has been MP for East Worthing and Shoreham since the 1997 general election. He was Shadow Mi nister for Environment from 2000-01, and Shadow Min ister for Health and Children from 2003-10. He was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Children and Families following the 2010 General Election - a position he held until201 2 - during which time he led on several areas of successful reform in child protection, child sexual explo itation and adoption in particular.
Tim has been a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee since November 2014. He is also Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Children and continues to champion the cause of vulnerable children and giving a voice to young people. He is Chairman of the trustees of the Parent & Infant Partnership UK (PIP UK) charity and also became chairman of the Attachment Policy Group (APG) in 2013. Tim is also an active member of a number of other Parliamentary groups covering a wide range of issues, including chairing the APPGs for Archaeology, the British Museum, Wine and Spirits, Mindfulness, and Tibet.
Stuart C. McDonald MP (Scottish National Party, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirk intilloch East)
Stuart McDonald is the SNP Spokesperson on Immigration, Asylum and Border Control and he serves on the Home Affairs Select Committee . Stuart trained and worked in the legal profession for eight years both in the capital and in Glasgow: first in private practice, then with the NHS and finally in the third sector as a human rights solicitor.
In 2009, Stuart made the switch into politics taking up research posts with Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP and then Jim Eadie MSP at the Scottish Parliament. This lead on to the role of head of information at Yes Scotland during the referendum campa ign. Finally, Stuart worked for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights as Parliamentary and Public Affairs Officer.
Naz Shah MP (Labour, Bradford West}
Naz Shah entered Parliament at the 2015 General Election. A women's rights campaigner, she is a former chair of mental health charity Sharing Voices Bradford the largest BAME mental health charity outside of London. She previously worked as a carer for children and adults with disabilities and spent time as a NHS Commissioner and director of a regional leadership program for local government.
Since been elected in May 2015, Naz has become a Member of the Home Affairs Select committee and has a particular passion in working on issues around the Prevent program, lslamophobia, integration, social mobility and poverty. She has recently become the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Chancellor the Rt Hon John McDonnell.
Mr Chuka Umunna MP (Labour, Streatham}
Chuka Umunna was selected by Streatham Labour Party to be Labour's parliamentary candidate in March 2008. He retained the seat for Labour at the May 2010 General Election, and was reelected at the 2015 General Election.
In 2011 Chuka was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and held the role until autumn 2015. He is currently Chair of Parliament's All Party Parliamentary Group on social integration, and he sits on the Home Affairs Committee. He is Chair of the ongoing independent inquiry into the Labour Party's support amongst Britain's Ethnic Minorities and also sits on the advisory board of the Centre for Progressive Capitalism. Prior to joining politics, he specialised as a solicitor in employment law and acted for both employees and employers for just under a decade.
David Winnick MP (Labour, Walsall North}
David Winnick was first elected a councillor in 1959, and in 1966 was elected to the House of Commons for a Croydon constituency. Since 1979 Mr Winnick has been Member of Parliament for Walsall North. He was re-elected as the Member for Walsall North for then inth time in May 2015.
A member of the Home Affairs Select Committee since 1997, he has argued for and fully supported a declaration of freemason membership by all those involved in the judiciary process and the police. In 2005 he wrote an amendment to the Home Affairs Select Committee report on identity cards, and which opposed their introduction. He continues to be an active and senior member of this committee in all the inquiries undertaken.
Speaker profiles In the order that they will address the conference.
r
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism, Home Office
Lord Ahmad was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Home Office in May 2015. He is a member of the House of Lords. Lord Ahmad was raised to the peerage in 2011 and served as a party whip before being appointed to government. He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party between 2008 and 2010 with responsibility for cities. He also served as a Councillor (Wimbledon Park) and Cabinet Member in the London Borough of Merton between 2002 to 2012.
Lord Ahmad has spent 20 years working in banking and finance, including at the NatWest Group where he was a senior manager in corporate banking and financia l markets. He was later vicepresident and Marketing Director of Alliance Bernstein and Strategy and Marketing Director at Sucden Financial.
Simon Cole QPM, Chief Constable Leicestershire Police, NPCC Lead for Prevent
Simon Cole QPM took up his position as Chief Constable of Leicestershire in June 2010. He is responsible for leading the Force as it seeks to protect its communities, heading up the Chief Officer Team, and working with key external partners on behalf of local people. In 2015 Simon was asked to lead work for the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) on the Prevent strategy to counter radica lisation.
Loca lly Simon represents the Force on the Strategic Partnership Board, working w ith partners from all over the Force area to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour. He also chairs the multi-agency Local Resilience Forum and the Force Executive Group, as well as representing the Force in working with the Police and Crime Commissioner. Simon is chair of the East Midlands Regional Chief Constables Meeting, leading collaborative work across the region. Simon is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Leicester's Centre for Hate Studies.
Cllr Muhammad Butt, Leader, London Borough of Brent Council
Cllr Butt was first elected as Leader of the Council in May 2012, re-e lected in May 2014 and, as Leader, he has prioritised creating jobs for local people, investing in affordable housing and protecting Brent's most vulnerable residents. His most recent election campaign focused on plans to build 300 affordable new homes in Brent. He is passionate about strengthening relations within Brent's community, to make the diverse borough more resilient and fairer for all.
Over the years, Cllr Butt has owned several businesses in Brent and has previously worked for BT as an engineer and for the then Department for Health and Social Security in project management. Cllr Butt entered politics after becoming involved in commun ity campaigning and advocacy for residents in his local area.
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Founder and Director, Faith Matters
Faith Matters works on reducing extremism and developing platforms for discourse and interaction between Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Jewish communities right across the UK. It also works extensively on community cohesion, interfaith, conflict resolution and countering extremism programmes at a local, national and international level. Fiyaz is also the founder and Director of the nationa l anti-Muslim hate crime monitoring project called TELL MAMA.
Fiyaz has worked in a number of organizations providing training to women right through to European transnationa l faith related programmes and advice and information projects. This includes over 15 years' experience in the community and voluntary sector in positions that have included socia l policy lobbying, project and general management, conflict resolut ion work and leading organizations as the Chief Operating Officer. Fiyaz was previously a Councillor in Haringey (2006-2010) and a Council lor in Oxford (2002-2004). He was appointed to the Working Group for Communities linked to the Extremism Task Force developed after the 7n bombings.
Dr Sara Silvestri, Senior Lecturer International Polit ics, City University London
Dr Silvestri is Senior Lecturer in the International Politics Department at City University London. She is also Affiliated Lecturer at POLIS (University of Cambridge) and a bye-fellow of St Edmund's college. Her research focuses on various dimensions of Musl im polit ica l mob ilisation, lslamism, and the role of faith-based actors in European public pol icy. She has been awarded research grants and consultancies by multiple bodies to study: the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism on Irish and Muslim communities in the UK, religion and conflict, religion and foreign policy, and issues at the intersection of migration, multicu lturalism, and security.
As an expert in these f ields Dr Silvestri has also worked in the cabinet of the European Commission's President and has led the 'Islam in Europe' programme for the think tank European Policy Centre in Brussels. Sara has advised a range of government agencies including: the UK Home Office, DFID, FCO, BIS, the German Ministry of Migration, and the Canadian Federal Government, as well as the UN, the EU, and the Anna Lindh Foundation.
Ali Souf an, CEO, Soufan Group
Ali Soufan is the Chief Executive Officer of The Soufan Group, which prov ides strategic security intelligence services to governments and multinational organizations. Mr. Soufan is a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent who investigated and supervised highly sensitive and complex internationa l terrorism cases, including the East Africa Embassy Bombings, the attack on the USS Cole, and the events surrounding 9111. Mr. Soufan also serves as a member of the US Homeland Security Advisory Council . He is the author of The New York Times Top 10 Bestseller, "The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al Qaeda."
Mr. Soufan had a distinguished career in the FBI, including serving on the Joint Terrorist Task Force, FBI New York Office, where he coordinated both domestic and international counterterrorism operations. He has received numerous commendations for his counter-terrorism work, inc luding the Director of the FBI's Awa rd for Excellence in Investigation, the Respect for Law Enf orcement Award and a commendation f rom the U.S. Department of Defense that labelled him "an important weapon in the ongoing war on terrorism."
Lawrence Ward, Global Head of Security PA Consulting and former Serjeant-at
Arms
As Globa l Head of Security for PA Consulting, Lawrence is responsible for the security of a global company operating from offices across the world, in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. Until2015, Lawrence was the Serjeant at Arms at the House of Commons with overa ll responsible for the security and access to the House. This high profile and historic role presents significant challenges to ensure the right of access for Members and the public whilst balancing increased security threats.
Between 2005 and 2008, Lawrence formed a consortium that included the Security Services, Government departments and the Department for Homeland Security in the US to develop the pan-government mail security facility. He also managed the Metropolitan Police Contract with Parliament - its largest contract- delivering improved standards and efficiencies.
Rt Hon Mark Simmonds, COO, Counter Extremism Project
The Rt Hon Mark Simmonds is COO of the Counter Extremism Project UK and is a Senior Advisor at Kroll. Under the previous Government he served as the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibility for Africa, the Caribbean and Conflict Resolution . Mark has chaired the United Nations Security Council on two occasions. The Counter Extremism Project Europe (CEP Europe), is an organisation Jed by former diplomats, government officials and private-sector leaders from the United States, Be lgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, which works to bring together a globa l force to combat extremism. The Project was launched in Brussels in June 2015.
Dr Lydia Wilson, Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Lydia Wilson is a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, a Senior Fellow and Fie ld Director at Artis International, and holds affiliated research positions at the University of Cambridge and City University New York. Her current research invo lves extensive fieldwork in the Middle East exploring motivations and pathways to violence, interviewing a range of those involved in conflicts. Lydia holds a PhD in medieval Arabic philosophy, an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science and a BA in Natural Sciences, all from the University of Cambridge. She edits the Cambridge Literary Review and writes journalism as well as academic articles. A book on ISIS, based on experiences on the ground, is in preparation.
George Selim, Director, Countering Violent Extremism Task Force, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
George Selim is the first Director of the Office for Community Partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary Jeh Johnson established the office in September 2015 to build relationships and promote trust with loca l communities, and to support innovative community based programs to counter violent extremism (CVE). In 2016, George was also selected to lead the new interagency CVE Task Force to integrate and synchronize federal efforts addressing violent extremism and promoting community resilience. Before assuming these roles, George served for four years as the White House's Director for Community Partnerships on the National Security Council . Prior to working at the White House, George was senior policy advisor in the Office for Civil Rights and Civi l Liberties at DHS and the Department of Justice. George is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy Reserve.
Zahed Amanullah, Head of Counternarratives, Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Zahed Amanullah joined lSD in 2014, overseeing the Institute's work in developing a Counternarrative Innovation Hub, bringing the private sector together with activists, frontline workers, and relevant civil society networks to counter extremist propaganda and recruitment. He has extensive experience in social entrepreneurship, creating and managing on and offline resources using technology to combat radicalisation, hate speech, and to promote critical ana lysis of issues regarding Muslim communities.
He is the Chair of the Concordia Forum, a global network of leaders from Muslim backgrounds that holds conferences and exclusive retreats annually. He has served as Chief Media Officer at Unitas Communications Ltd., a leading communications agency specialising in the interface between the Is lamic world and the West and is the former Executive Editor of altmuslim.com.
Ameena Blake, Assistant Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain
Ameena has been an English teacher for the past 14 years with expertise in the area of English as an additional language and has held roles such as Head of English Department, Assistant Head Teacher and School Senior leader. Currently, Ameena is working on a project to set up women's hostels to support the victims of domestic abuse, forced marriage and other women who need a home. She is also involved in organisational consultancy which offers support with strategic planning, staff training, leadership development and also improvement for schools and organisations.
Mohammed Nizami, Co-Director, Averroes
Mohammed focuses on political theory, the framework for democratic engagement and wider ideas on democratic theory, citizenship, and framing Islam as a western religious tradition. He also specialises in Islamic law and legal theory, contemporary theology in pol itics, interpretive methods for re ligious scripture, and Islamic jurisprudence in relation to western Muslim minorities. He has authored reports for international NGOs and served on the advisory board of a number of Muslim organisations on matters related to religion, politics and social engagement. He engages and educates British Muslims in the capacity of Visiting Islamic Scholar to Kingston Mosque, as well as lecturing at various re ligious institutions around London.
Rafat AI-Akhali, Fellow, University of Oxford and former Yemeni Minister for Youth and Sports
Rafat A li AI-Akhali is a Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. He was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports in the Government of Yemen in November 2014, a position he he ld ti II September 2015. Rafat previously worked as a senior consultant and ana lyst for organizations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM in Canada. He has also worked in the field of development with a number of international development agencies in Yemen, and was a member of the Accessions Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva where he participated in the accession process of severa l countries including Yemen. Rafat is a non-resident fe llow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the "GCC in Transition" project at Chatham House.
Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol
Mr Wainwright was appointed Director of Europol in Apri l 2009. He was reappointed for a second term in 2013, having overseen Europol's transition from intergovernmental organisation to EU agency status in 2010, ensured Europol's pivotal position in the new EU Policy Cycle for serious and organised crime from 2011, and secured the establishment of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) at Europol in 2013. During his tenure, the number of cases initiated at Europol has more than doubled, to close on 35,000 in 2014, and Europol has significantly strengthened its portfolio of operational support tools and services, most recently via the creation of the EU Internet Referral Unit (IRU} and the reinforcement of Europol's work to tackle migrant smuggling.
Between 2000 and 2003, Mr Wainwright was the Head of the UK liaison Bureau at Europol, and also responsible for the Europol National Unit in London. The Liaison Bureaux are a key link in Europol's cooperation with the EU Member States. In 2003, he was promoted to the position of Director International of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS}, where he was responsible for its internationa l operations and for developing and implementing the UK strategy against facilitated illega l immigration. He also managed the UK's National Central Bureau for Interpol and its Europol National Unit. Between 2006 and 2009, he was Chief of the International Department of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
Lt. Gen. Dambazau, Minister for Internal Affairs, Nigeria
Abdulrahman Be llo Dambazau is a retired Nigerian Army lieutenant General and Nigeria's current Minister of the Interior. He was appointed Minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015. He served as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) between 2008 and 2010.
Lt. Gen. Dambazau has also served as a military police officer, Aide De Camp to the Chief of Army Staff (1979}, commanded military police units and served as a Specia l Investigator (1984-1985). He was Registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy from 1993 to 1999, and also served as Chief Instructor, Support Weapon Wing of the Infantry Centre and School from 1999 to 2001 and later as Directing Staff at the National War College from 2004 to 2006. From 2007-2008 he served as Genera l Officer Commanding (GOC) 2nd Division, lbadan.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is tasked with providing complementary interna l security and other ancillary services within Nigeria. The Ministry of Interior was formed in 2007 after the Ministry of Internal Affairs merged with the Ministry of Police Affairs. The Ministry formulates and implements pol icies related to border management and supervises the National Immigration Service
Contributors to Countering Extremism inquiry
These organisations and individuals have given oral evidence • Muslim Council of Britain • Quilliam • East London Mosque Trust • Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK • Rt Han Baroness Warsi • National Union of Students • Bethnal Green Academy • Professor Julius Weinberg, Vice-Chancellor, • Inspire Kingston University • CAGE Advocacy Ltd • Council for Mosques Bradford • Mark Rowley QPM, Assistant Commissioner • Konika Dhar
for Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan • David Anderson QC, Independent Reviewer Police of Terrorism Legislation
• Rt Han John Hayes MP, Minister for Security • Google • Charles Farr, Director General, Office for • Facebook
Security and Counter-Terrorism, Home Office • Twitter • Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General, • FAST (Families Against Stress and Trauma)
Border Force • Maslaha
These organisations and individuals have submitted written evidence • Dialogue Society • Fadel Soliman • Community Security Trust • Muslim Council of Britain • Counter Extremism Project UK • Inspire • The Henry Jackson Society • Border Force • National Association of Head Teachers • John Witherow, Editor, The Times • CAGE Advocacy UK Ltd • Moonshot 0/E • Charity Commission • Mark Rowley QPM, Metropolitan • Universities UK Pol ice • David Anderson Q.C. • Ahmadiyya Anjuman lsha
. a • European Council on Tolerance & • Naz Shah MP
Reconciliation • Institute for Strategic Dialogue • Maggie Beirne • Stig Abell, Managing Editor, The Sun • Tony Blair Faith Foundation • Rt Han Theresa May MP, Home Secretary • Averroes • Dr M. A Fazal • Claystone • Council for Mosques Bradford • Dr Francis Lankester • Index on Censorship • East London Mosque • Alison Jamieson • Mohammed Akunjee • Rt Han John Hayes MP, Minister for Security • Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK • Twitter • Michael Gallagher • Google • Green Spring Education Trust • Facebook • PSHE Association • Community Safety Forum • Quilliam • Faith Matters • Abdus Sabur Qutubi • Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board • National Union of Students
The Home Affairs Select Committee
Member
Rt Hon Keith Vaz (Cha ir) Victoria Atkins James Berry Mr David Burrowes Nusrat Ghani Mr Ranil Jayawardena Tim Loughton Stuart C. McDonald Naz Shah Mr Chuka Umunna Mr David Winnick
Committee Staff
Party and Constituency
Labour, Leicester East Conservative, Louth and Horncastle Conservative, Kingston and Surbiton Conservative, Enfield, Southgate Conservative, Wealden Conservative, North East Hampshire Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham Scottish National Party, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East Labour, Bradford West Labour, Streatham Labour, Walsa ll North
Carol Oxborough, Clerk of the Committee Phil Jones, Second Clerk of the Committee Peter Starn, Committee Specialist Kunal Mundul. Committee Specialist Andy Boyd, Senior Committee Assistant
Powers of the Committee The Home Affairs Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principa lly in SO No 152.
The Committee consists of 11 Members of Parliament, drawn from the three largest political parties. The House of Commons appoints the Committee with the task of examining the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies.
The Committee chooses its own subjects of inquiry and seeks written and oral evidence from a wide range of relevant groups and individuals. At the end of an inquiry the Committee will usually produce a report setting out its findings and making recommendations to the Government. The Government must respond to each of the report's recommendations within two months of publication.
Committee Reports Session 2015-16 All publications from the Committee are available on the Committee's website at http://www .pa rliament.uklbus i ness/committees/com m ittees-a-z/com mons-select/home-affairscommittee/publications/
First Report: Psychoactive substances - HC 361 (HC 755)
Second Report: The work of the Immigration Directorates (02 2015)- HC 512(HC 693)
Third Report: Police investigations and the role of the Crown Prosecution Service- HC 534
Fourth Report: Reform of the Police Funding Formula- HC 476
Fifth Report: Immigration: skill shortages- HC 429(HC 857)
Sixth Report: The work of the Immigration Directorates (03 2015)- HC 772
Seventh Report: Police and Crime Commissioners: here to stay - HC 844
Delegates
H. E. Adah Simon Ogah, Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria
Dr Adrian Dwyer OBE, British Transport Police
Cllr Afzal Shah, Bristol City Council
Alan Lyon, Metropolitan Police
Alex Leonhardt, Universities UK
Andrew Figgures, British Transport Police
Andrew Priest, Cheshire Constabulary
Andrew Mellor, European Union Advisory Mission I City of London Police
Cllr Ann Sinnott, Cambridge City Council
Anthony Stansfeld, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley
Bashir Chaudry MBE, League of British Muslims UK
Basit Javid, West Midlands Police
Dr Benjamin Lee, Lancaster University
Beverly Knight, West Sussex County Council
Brian Simmonds, East Herts District Council
Brittany Smith, Google
Calum Jeffray, Royal United Services Institute
Charles Loft, Local Government Association
Charlie Pericleous, Portsmouth City Council
Chris Byrne, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
Chris Murray, IPPR -Institute for Public Policy Research
Chris Singer, Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police
Dave Anderson, North umbria Police
David Skevington, Suffolk Constabulary
H.E. Dumsile Sukata, The Kingdom of Swaziland High Commissioner
H.E. Edward Mohamed Turay, Sierra Leone High Commissioner
Esther McVey, British Transport Police
Farooq Aftab, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK
Frank Grutter, Embassy of Switzerland
Gavin Thomas, Police Superintendents' Association
Gemma Robinson, Southend on Sea Borough Council
Sir Graham Bright, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire
Gregg Banks, Police Scotland
Guy Pratt, Hertfordshire County Council
Habibur Rahman, East London Mosque
Haider Alkhateeb, Middlesex University
Hannah Daniel, Counter Extremism Project
Hannah Stuart, Henry Jackson Society
Dr Helen Fani , Iran Children Charity
lan Hassall, Merseyside Police
llknur Kahraman, Dialogue Society
lman Abou Atta, Faith Matters
Jo Attwooll, Universities UK
Joe Hayman, PSHE Association
Jon Shalom, Norfolk County Council
Jon Stratford, South Wales Police
Jonathan Este, The Conversation
Jonathan Russell, Quilliam
Joy Piper, Central Bedfordshire Council
Juma Sheha, Tanzania High Commission
Karim Palant, Facebook
Lauren Birch, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester
Lee Han Yin, Singapore High Commission
Lorraine Hennessy, National Police Chiefs Council
Cllr Lucy Botting, Mole Valley District Council
Mak Chishty, Metropolitan Police
Dr Marat Shterin , King's College London
Mark Hopkins, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Mark Powell , Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
Dr Matthew Francis, University of Lancaster I Centre for Research and Evidence
on Security Threats
Matthew Lawler, Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police
Prof Matthew Feldman, Teesside University
Matthew Thompson, Eastern Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit
H.E. Md Abdul Hannan, Bangladesh High Commissioner
Michael Nelson, London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime
Michelle Russell, Charity Commission
Miha Erman, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in London
Mohamed AI Harbi , Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
Moona Haque, Families Against Stress and Trauma
Muhammad Zeeshan Latif, Minhaj-ui-Quran international London
Murtaza Shaikh, Averroes
Mustafa Field MBE, Faith Forums for London
H.E. Nabil Ammar, Ambassador of Tunisia
H. E. Nasser Kamel , Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt
H. E. Natalia Galibarenko, Ambassador of Ukraine
Nick Thompson, Kent Police
Paul Kennedy, North Yorkshire Police
Paul Stock, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire
Paul Thomas, University of Huddersfield
Peter Welby, TonyBiairFaithFoundation
Ricardo Morelli , Argentine Embassy in the United Kingdom
Richard Anderson Q.C., Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
Richard Browning, West Yorkshire Police
Richard Cooper, Gloucestershire Constabulary
Richard Humphrey, Thames Valley Police
Richard Moore, West Midlands Police
Richard Woolford, City of London Police
Ron Ball , Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire
Russ Foster, West Yorkshire Police
Cllr Russ McPherson, Cambridge City Council and Cambridge Regional College
S.O. Fehintola, Nigeria High Commission
Dr Saffron Karlsen, University of Bristol
Saleha Jaffer, Families Against Stress and Trauma .
Sally Goodwin, Derbyshire County Council
Salman Farsi, East London Mosque
Samantha Norman, Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police
Dr Sarah Marsden, University of Lancaster
Imam Sayed Razawi, Faith Forums for London
Scott Waddington, Lancashire Constabulary
Seval Gokce, Mevlana Rumi Mosque
Simon Megicks, Hertfordshire Constabulary
Simon Quarrel!, Home Office
Stephen Bett, Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk
Stephen Pemberton, Lancashire Constabulary
Steven Hume, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Suman Riaz, League of British Muslims UK
Sussanah Browne, Home Office
Tasnime Akunjee, Solicitor
Cllr Tony Aslam, Borough Council of Wellingborough
Turker Yllmaz, Turkish Embassy in London
Vicky Skeels, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Wayne Jones, North Wales Police
Yousif AI-Khoei OBE, AI-Khoei Foundation, Mosques and Imams National
Advisory Board
Written evidence submitted by Mr Mohammed Akunjee
1. I am a defense solicitor working in the field of Terrorism and Terrorism
related offending. I have been engaged in this field of work within the context
of legal defence from late 1999 onwards.
2. Throughout the currency of my career I have had intrinsic experience with the
narratives of various proscribed organisations, terrorist organisations, as well
as a working engagement with the numerous tranches of terrorism related
legislation and their application through the prism of the Prevent strategy.
3. I have worked on cases concerning individuals who have been accused of an
affinity to terrorist organisations and on cases where the accused have traveled
to conflict zones and returned to their home countries.
4. In addition to my normal activities in my role as a defense lawyer I have also
been involved in matters relating to the repatriation of ‘regrettees’ (persons
who have traveled to conflict zones and then regretted their initial decision) in
a more direct and proactive capacity.
5. In June of this year I was involved in traveling to the border region of Turkey
and Syria to negotiate the release and repatriation of a female British citizen.
She had found herself in the custody of rebel forces operating in Syria.1 The
process of her retrieval involved negotiating with various parties including
elements within the authority structure of the UK, the Turkish authorities and
the rebel parties themselves.
6. In March 2015 I was involved in advising the families of the three schoolgirls
(Shamima Begum, Khadiza Sultana and Amira Abase) who left Bethnal Green
Academy (BGA). The girls had travelled from East London to ISIS controlled
Syria2; indeed I had given evidence to this committee on that subject at that
time3. Some of the same process outlined above were employed in the BGA
1 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4477337.ece
2 https://news.vice.com/article/left-in-the-dark-the-story-behind-the-families-of-three-girls-groomed-by-the-islamic-state
3 http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news/150306-ct-ev/
schoolgirls situation in order to achieve contact between the girls and their
families. In this case social media, namely the Twitter campaign
‘#callhomegirls’, was deployed to positive effect4.
7. I have advised individuals and entities in the UK and abroad on their
operations and the framework of the laws applicable to them in their activities
pertinent to assisting people escaping from conflict zones. I have also advised
entities with respect to the provision of humanitarian aid to Syria and Syrian
refugees in Jordan and Turkey.
8. From the experiences outlined above and being mindful of my responsibilities
as a solicitor to the strictures of legal professional privilege I have attempted
to provide some answer to the question “what motivates people to leave the
UK and aid the conflict in Syria”.
Tipping Point
9. The question in focus is what factors contribute to causing young British
people to leave the safety of the UK and expose themselves to the deadly risks
and discomfort of a war zone.
10. From my experience both, direct and anecdotal, such travelers fall broadly in
to three categories:
a) The Aid Worker
b) The Just War Protagonist
c) Supporters of the ISIS Caliphate
11. All three have different reasons for engaging in conflict related activity. It is
not uncommon to find deep stresses within the family dynamic of such people,
however the initial common impetus on the reasoning leading to travel is
empathy, usually based upon viewing the suffering of others on the
mainstream news media (something which Lord Prescott correctly identified)5.
4 https://twitter.com/elondonmosque/status/580690677144674304?s=08
5 http://news.sky.com/story/1444796/prescott-links-blair-crusades-to-radicalisation
The second most important factor is foreign policy – namely the perception of
a biased foreign policy affected by the UK and others which creates war or
promotes suffering of civilian populations when war subsists6. Oft cited
examples of this are: Gulf War II, the ongoing conflict in Palestine and the
invasion of Afghanistan. A compounding factor is the perceived bias from
sections of the media surrounding these issues7. Such individuals then feel it is
their ‘duty’ to redress the balance within their personal sphere of
influence/ability and therefore fall into one of the three subsets above.
12. All three groups display a highly developed sense of social responsibility,
concept of justice and sense of personal responsibility for others. However,
particularly in the third class of traveller such notions are expressed
exclusively for those who support ISIS or sometimes, but to a lesser extent, for
Muslims generally.
THREE TYPES OF TRAVELLERS
Humanitarian Aid Worker
13. Genuine aid worker wishing to alleviate pain and suffering of the Syrian
people as result of the on-going civil war.
14. Examples of who they are:
Alan Henning8
David Haines9
Kaiser Khan10
6 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11471452/Lord-Prescott-says-Tony-Blairs-bloody-crusades-radicalised-Muslims.html
7 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/19/john-simpson-british-media-grotesquely-selective-in-reporting-terror-attacks_n_8606888.html
8 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/14/alan-henning-isis-syria-hostage-aid-worker
9 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-34222148
10 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3079942/British-father-tells-taken-hostage-ISIS-murdered-aid-worker-
Problems
15. Despite engaging in humanitarian efforts aid workers and charities working
for relief programs in Syria have been targeted by the UK police for arrest11,
questioning and subsequent investigation by the Charity Commission. Muslim
Charities and Muslim aid workers have felt this acutely12 particularly under
William Shawcross13, Gwyn Prins14 and Peter Clarke15 involvement with the
Charity Commission. This has led to resentment and furthering the feeling of
the ‘us and them’ paradigm within the Muslim community.
Just War Proponents
16. These are individuals that believe in the struggle to overthrow the current
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and/or fight against ISIS.
17. Motivations for travelling are usually that ‘western governments’ are not
doing enough with respect to either Assad or ISIS.
18. Interestingly both Muslims and non-Muslims who travel to fight in a ‘just
war’ cite the following concepts under international law as justification for
their involvement in the conflict:
right to self-determination
right to self-defense as defined in international law and
sympathetically expressed in various iterations of Sharia law
(defensive Jihad)
Alan-Henning-let-Muslim.html
11 http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE-Crawley-dad-reveals-held-hostage/story-26488279-detail/story.html
12 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/16/charity-commission-inquiries-muslim-groups
13 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/william-shawcross-profile-from-scourge-of-nixon-to-establishment-lackey-10487534.html
14 http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/gwyn-prins-the-man-is-a-tyrant-whose-time-has-come-the-war-must-be-fought-132027.html
15 http://www.spinwatch.org/index.php/issues/politics/item/5627-charity-commission-article
19. Examples of who they are
James Hughes16 & Jamie Read17
Kosta Scurfield18
Silhan Özçelik19
Abu Basir al-Britani20
Problems
20. The UK has a non-coherent policy toward returnees from this subset of
people. From the perspective of the Muslim community and Muslim returnees,
it appears that non-Muslim fighters with the PKK21 affiliate group YPG22 are
effectively immune from prosecution however; anyone else appears to be
subject to such prosecution.
21. The perceived racial/religious distinction in the operation of the terror-laws
leads to the promotion of the perception of a two-tier legal system within the
Muslim Community. Such perceived bias further alienates young Muslims and
contributes to to young people deciding to travel to Syria.
Those who want to join the ‘Islamic State’
16 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/22/uk-mercenaries-fighting-islamic-state-terrorist-syria
17 http://news.sky.com/story/1391780/former-uk-soldiers-compelled-to-fight-is
18 http://www.fhm.com/news/fighting-isis-british-soldier-scurfield-kosta-matt-blake
19 http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/20/girl-becomes-first-briton-convicted-of-trying-to-join-fight-against-islamic-state-in-syria
20 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3166531/British-jihadi-fighting-Syrian-rebel-group-condemns-ISIS-bombing-raids-civilians-promises-good-tidings-carries-revenge-attacks.html
21 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472956/Proscription-update-20151030.pdf
22 http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-says-ypg-are-terrorists-pyd-just-a-political-party_404854.html
22. These people tend to be driven by the belief of the true Caliphate being
established in the body of ISIS.
23. Some of the above are motivated partially by ‘just war’ theory, however the
theory in these cases is simplified to a dualistic ‘us and them narrative’; ‘Us’
being ISIS; and ‘them’ being everyone else. Its expression is identical to the
Neo Conservative post 9/11 position as expressed by George W Bush in his
September 20th 2001 address to a joint session of congress:
“Every nation in every region now has a decision to make:
Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”23
24. There are broadly two types of people with different motivations who join
ISIS. A process of ‘temporal chromatography’ can be applied to differentiate
between the two:
Group A
25. This group tend to have joined pre-August 2014 (before ISIS public
beheadings). Their motivations for joining fall within the category of ‘Just
War Proponent’ (see above).
Group B
26. This groups motivations for joining ISIS revolve primarily around the desire
to assist ISIS in expanding its territory as far as possible. They are further
motivated by concepts of nation building to establish a territory where Islam
may be practiced to its fullest extent without ‘outside’ interference.
27. The general ‘push factors’ are similar across the board namely, the acute
feeling that their religion is under attack in western countries24and that they
are blocked from integrating into society due to societal bias against Muslims25
.
23 http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/
24 http://bridge.georgetown.edu/online-resources-on-anti-muslim-bias-incidents/
25 http://www.mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fairnessnotfavours-MCB.pdf\
28. The ‘pull factors’ from ISIS drawing such people revolve around ideological
arguments demanding Muslims travel to their territory due to their claim of it
being the legitimate Caliphate.
29. A further factor drawing people to ISIS is that ISIS have an operational
benefits system whereby anyone who has traveled to join them is provided
with a stipend, housed and catered for at ‘state’ expense. This fact is the single
most important reason for the new phenomenon of very young UK citizens
and whole British families having chosen to go to ISIS controlled territory.
30. Examples of who they are:
Junaid Hussain26
Reyaad Khan27
The Mannan family28
Siddhartha Dhar29
Problems
31. Returnees from this class of traveller pose a number of problems and
opportunities; they would normally have travelled to Syria attracted to a
utopian idealism, having reached their destination they would have been
presented with the actuality of the situation, i.e. not a utopian ideal. Given the
push factors from the UK contributing toward their decision to leave will
normally subsist and indeed likely be further compounded (Media, Social
Services and Police interest in they and their families), they still have made
the decision to come home.
32. Such people present the best resource for dissuading others from taking the
same course30. The vast majority of these returnees will fall into this camp.
26 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34078900
27 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34178998
28 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/yes-we-have-joined-isis-say-missing-british-family-of-12-who-fled-to-syria-luton-islamic-state-isis-10365915.html
29 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11616783/Walthamstow-jihadi-posts-glowing-guide-to-life-in-cosmpolitan-Islamic-State.html
30 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/06/richard-barrett-mi6-isis-counter-terrorism
33. Security services will highlight the possibility that an element of these
returnees may well be ‘sleeper cells’ whose true intention for returning is to
perpetrate a terrorist attack on UK soil. Though this threat cannot be ruled out
completely, the fundamental difficulty for security services and police in
prevention of crime/terrorism is detection. With respect to ‘regrettees’ if there
were to be an open policy of reintegration into UK society, the detection
problem would not exist. Appropriate resources could then be focused on
persons assessed as particularly problematic.
General problems with current policy
34. Currently there appears no distinction in UK policy toward returnees from any
of the classes with respect to prosecution. There also remains no recognition
of the different motivations and experiences of people who have joined ISIS
pre August 2014 and post August 2014.
35. Indeed, current UK policy from the perspective of the Muslim community
seems to treat all returnees as potential subjects for terrorism charges save for
only two categories:
Non-Muslims who have traveled to Syria to join the YPG
Children who have traveled to Syria
36. Where there exists the perception of a two-tier criminal justice system31 with a
particular minority group as its focus32, it is difficult to contemplate anything
more corrosive to community cohesion than targeted and selective injustice.
37. Such perception of injustice and erosion of civil liberties on the back of
national security concerns have long been known to be counterproductive33.
Stella Remington stated in 2009 the following:
31 http://issuu.com/tasnimeakunjee/docs/finland_lecture_terrorism_rs/1
32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWhDJX6tGpc&feature=youtu.be
33 http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/feb/17/government-exploiting-terrorism-fear
"It would be better that the government recognised that
there are risks rather than frightening people in order to be able
to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, [which is] precisely one
of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a
police state… I think people are fully aware that the more you
intrude into people's civil liberties, the more you set up
grievances for people to…. encourage people to do all the
unpleasant things that are going on…"34
38. Given that the UK threat level from international terrorism has not dropped
below ‘Substantial’ since 2006 (when such records began) despite the
implementation of over 10 pieces of terrorism related legislation designed to
counter terrorism and extremism, it can only be concluded that Ms
Remington’s words have been proved correct.
UK Threat Level History
Fig 1. UK threat level over time. 35
Prevent
34 http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/feb/17/government-exploiting-terrorism-fear
35 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28986271
39. It is notable that many individuals and organisations who operate within the
context of the prevent strategy from across the political spectrum are highly
critical of the policy. Indeed all individuals who have testified in front of this
committee to date on the issue of Prevent have been critical of it, save for
individuals who receive direct funding from the program its self.
40. At its premise, the Prevent strategy’s purpose is to36:
Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism
Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism
Work with sectors and intuitions where there are risks of radicalisation
41. Prevent supposes that the root cause of terrorism is ideological. From
experience and an analysis of a cross-section of militant publications and
messaging it is clear that the primary motivations of terrorism is political.
Indeed Sir Bernard Hogan Howe in front of this very committee opinioned the
same37.
42. The Governments own research (both open and classified) reaches the
following conclusions with respect to some of the underlying contributors to
violent extremism:
“5.27 ….. Issues which can contribute to a sense that Muslim communities are being unfairly treated include so-called ‘stop and search’ powers used by the police under counter-terrorism legislation; the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy; a perception of biased and Islamophobic media coverage; and UK foreign policy, notably with regard to Muslim countries, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the war in Iraq”38.
43. The research further stresses the need for future strategy in this realm to
specifically address the issue of foreign policy:
36 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf
37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USj8yG2g2t4 (@1h18 min )
38 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf
“3.27 … A future strategy in this area will include better communication of Government security and foreign policies to rebut claims made about them…..” 39.
44. In the current counter extremism strategy there is almost no mention of
foreign policy what so ever40, neither is there acknowledgment of the well
documented grievance of the disproportionate use of Schedule 7 Terrorism
Act 2000 powers against ethnic minorities41.
45. Rather than living up to its purported claim of contesting the message of
extremism the policy proposes a campaign of shutting down spaces for
dialogue and the banning of ‘extremist’ speakers. There appears nowhere a
definition of what ‘extremist speaker’ is save for a vague reference to ‘those
opposed to British values’. The Governments stated list of fundamental British
values are:
“[the]values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”42
46. The irony being that the Governments new strategy is to deal with no
identified grievance from the Muslim community, thereby failing itself in
demonstrating tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. The strategy in shutting
down debate in all arenas consequently fails to meet its own stated goal of
‘challenging’ the extremist messaging. The strategy also demonstrates
Governments own failure to respect the political beliefs of others by
purposefully avoiding any discussion around foreign policy issues.
Conclusion
39 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf
40 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470088/51859_Cm9148_Accessible.pdf
41 https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/sites/default/files/Schedule-7-Liberty-s-Report-Stage-Briefing-on-ASB-Bill-Oct-2013_0.pdf
42 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/380595/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf
47. It has been said of Prevent in the past that it is a ‘toxic brand’43. Given the
observations highlighted above with respect to the Governments stated
reshaping of the strategy I would suggest that the brand is being shifted from
being merely toxic to being radioactive.
Case Studies of foreign fighters (not related to names listed)
Case Study 1 – British male fighter with ISIS
This individual is in his mid to late twenties and speaks about his life in Syria
and the UK.
Around a decade before actually going to Syria he had adopted a militant anti-
government attitude whilst living in the UK. This had led to him coming to the
attention of MI5, however he had never been charged with an offence.
Exploring what had lead him to become attracted to a militant brand of Islam
in the first place, he stated that up until then he had been brought up in fairly
typical liberal South Asian Muslim family with a stable financial and
emotional situation.
He elucidated that he had lead a life of “dossing around” and felt a bit like a
“lost sheep” until he found religion, laboring that it was not “radical
preachers” that had influenced him but his opposition to events in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
43 http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/09/anti-radicalisation-prevent-strategy-a-toxic-brand
A friend of his explained that when younger, the man had indulged in fairly
normal teenage mischief. However, religion had initially had a positive,
calming influence on him.
The man managed to get to Syria despite being questioned by police at the
airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.
He initially joined Jabhat al Nusra but felt that they were not ‘strict enough’
and so joined ISIS. His reason for the switch to ISIS was that they were the
only group truly implementing the sharia.
The subject demonstrated a lack of empathy with anyone he classified as an
‘enemy’ but retained an ability to still show affection for anyone considered a
friend – even someone who was not in agreement with ISIS but Muslim.
The subject’s motivations for going to Syria appear to revolve partly around a
search for an identity and status; at one stage he took a prominent role on
social media from Syria, he appeared to enjoy being recognised and talked
about by others in ISIS and also in the West.
Case Study 2 – British male fighter with ISIS
This man in his early thirties had been a prominent member of the circle
around the now banned group Al-Muhajiroun.
He had been espousing Militant beliefs for around a decade.
Whilst in the UK he had seemed to enjoy the notoriety afforded to him by the
tabloid press, and seemed to know how to manipulate them to get more media
coverage.
In Syria he did much the same thing, frequently calling for attacks in Britain
on social media platforms. When challenged with the assertion that he was
something of an internet “troll” and was just trying to wind people up, he
expressed frustration as he felt he was not being taken seriously as a threat.
The subject is deceased.
Case Study 3 – European male ambulance driver/fighter with Independent
Outfit
The subject is a young male in his 30’s, he comes from a religiously mixed
background, when growing up he was well integrated with his peers and
society.
His parents having split up some time in the past he began seeking his identity
and found religion.
The subject remained well integrated however was sensitized to the suffering
of the Iraqi people post the second Gulf war, and later on the suffering of the
Syrian people at the hands of the Assad regime.
The subject took it upon himself to raise aid and deliver it to the people of
Syria, whilst delivering aid to Syria the subject was exposed to the killing of
many of his friends by both precursor groups to ISIS and the Assad regime,
some of whom were simple aid workers.
The subject initially decided to stay in Syria, working as an ambulance driver,
he is married to a Syrian and has a child, the subject now wishes to come back
to his home country but cannot do so for fear of arrest in the current climate.
Mohammed Akunjee
Solicitor specialising in terrorism and serious crime